


the ball's in your court now

by AlexSeanchai



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bets & Wagers, F/M, Height Differences, Identity Reveal, Podfic Welcome, Puns & Word Play, Romantic Fluff, Season/Series 03 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 03:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19455100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexSeanchai/pseuds/AlexSeanchai
Summary: It's just your partner, Marinette. Adrien's just your partner. You can throw him across Paris, you can use him to bait traps with, you can magic up a hang glider with him without needing to say a word—you can sure as hell talk to him.You'vebeentalking to him all along. Knowing half that time he's been in love with you forever.You can talk to him.…No pressure.





	the ball's in your court now

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GalahadWilder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalahadWilder/gifts).



_It's just your partner, Marinette. He's just your partner. You can throw him across Paris, you can use him to bait traps with, you can magic up a hang glider with him without needing to say a word—you can sure as hell talk to him._

_You've **been** talking to him all along. Knowing half that time he's been in love with you forever._

_You can talk to him._

_…No pressure._

"Hey, girl, what's eating you?"

Marinette only didn't jump a meter by virtue of having heard Alya coming. "A-Alya!" she said, which wasn't going to help her with projecting the cool collected look. "Hey!"

Alya grinned at her. "It's Adrien, isn't it."

"When isn't it?" Marinette sneaked another glance across the courtyard: Adrien was talking to Alix and Kim. "It's just—"

Why was _this_ the moment that made Marinette want to pull Alya aside and whisper _I'm Ladybug_ to her? Not that it was a new impulse, of course—she knew perfectly well how often Alya covered for Nino when Ladybug needed Carapace, and vice versa, and Marinette would like some of that herself, please—but why was being able to tell her _I'm Ladybug and he's Chat Noir_ making the impulse so much stronger?

Though really, if Marinette were going to tell anyone anything, the right thing to do would be go pull _Adrien_ aside and whisper _I'm Ladybug and I know you're Chat Noir_. They'd had enough problems with trust as it—

"—Marinette?"

Right. "Sorry, what?"

Alya shook her head. "Daydreaming about getting your tongue on his hot bod again?"

Marinette's face burned. "Well, I _wasn't_ …"

Laughing, Alya put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, just go ask him for help with the physics homework or something."

"Or something," murmured Marinette, spotting— _ **really** , Ladybug? that is such low-hanging fruit **Chat Noir** has yet to go for it_—Lila arriving and noticing Adrien. And Adrien noticing Lila and starting to glance nervously around. Lila was gravitating toward the biggest clump of admirers, but they were close enough to Adrien that they wouldn't keep her attention off him long.

Yeah, no.

Now, for some way to get Adrien away from Lila, or at least keep Lila away from Adrien, that wasn't going to involve a whole lot of Marinette talking—ah!

Marinette headed for Adrien, Alix, and Kim. "Hey, Alix!" she said brightly. "Kim! Since we have plenty of time before class, do you want to play some basketball? I bet Adrien and I can kick both your asses."

The magic word with Kim and Alix, of course, being 'bet'. "I'm in!" said Alix.

Kim glanced significantly up at the basketball hoop, then leaned down to Marinette's height. "I bet you can't."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," said Adrien, and—holy shit was he looking at _Marinette_ the same way he looked at _Ladybug_? This was one of the concerned faces, but—how long had _that_ been going on? "You look pretty pale here."

 _He's just your partner._ "Yes, that happens when you don't see the sun for three days," Marinette told him. "Are you playing or not?"

Adrien was frowning now. "Not when my teammate looks like she might fall asleep on the court I'm not."

"Right," said Marinette, who had, actually, slept. Not _much_ —too busy spinning out dozens of worst-case scenarios, and she was only at school this early, especially for Monday, because people were a good distraction—but she _had_ slept, and they made coffee with extra milk, chocolate, and honey for a reason. "Alix! Let's you and me kick Adrien and Kim's asses!"

Alix gave Marinette a look of deep suspicion, covered by a smile. "I'm in," she repeated. "Bet these two dorks will try to back out because we're short."

"I will not!" protested Kim.

Adrien considered all three of them, with half a glance towards where Lila was holding court. "Sounds fun," he decided. "I'll grab the ball."

The moment he was out of earshot, Alix leaned in toward Marinette. "New strategy?"

"Shut up," muttered Marinette. It wasn't a denial. It wasn't meant to be.

"Hey, this might actually work for you," Kim added in an undertone. "He's only mooning over Kagami because Kagami keeps knocking him on his ass at fencing." He smirked down at her. " 'Course, you'll have to actually kick our asses first."

"Does _everyone_ know?" whined Marinette. (Interesting detail there, though. Was _that_ why he'd fallen for Ladybug? Because she threw him at Stoneheart?)

"Nah," Kim told her, cheerful. "He's clueless."

"Which I might want to leave it that way," muttered Marinette, watching Adrien return with the basketball and start telling people to clear them some court.

Alix blinked. "What? Why?"

 _I'm Ladybug and I know you're Chat Noir_ would get her a date with Adrien. Almost no question about it. But if he didn't _want_ Marinette? Whether she told him that or not—

If he didn't _want_ plain old ditzy klutzy unreliable uninteresting Marinette—

"Never mind," mumbled Marinette, shrugging off her purse and blazer and setting them to the side. "Here he comes anyway."

"All right, ladies," said Adrien, bouncing the basketball and catching it, "and overly gentle giant."

"Hey!" protested Kim.

"Well, if we lose to the short girls, I don't see any other explanation," said Adrien with a wicked grin, and passed Kim the ball.

Basketball wasn't Marinette's best sport, of course, but playing needed her focus a lot like akuma battles did: keep track of her teammate and opponents and bystanders, know the objectives, and strategize, all while getting a physical workout. Put in those terms, basketball was actually the more difficult of the two, if one pretended the stakes were equal. Sports had rules, after all; combat had Geneva Conventions, which Ladybug and Chat Noir had to abide by even if Hawkmoth and Mayura had never met an ethic in their lives.

Disconcerting to team up with Alix and _not_ Adrien, though. To look to _Alix_ to intercept Kim's pass and dodge _Adrien_ 's guard. To block _Adrien_ from catching Kim's rebound and dribble over to where Alix might be clear to receive and shoot the ball. To accept Alix's assist and evade _Adrien_ to take a jump shot and make the basket.

Alix was going to be an _awesome_ Miraculous-wielding teammate—and probably everything she'd done since Timetagger was honestly to _be_ a good Rabbit wielder, not to _look like_ she'd be one—but Bunnyx was not and never would be Ladybug's _partner_.

"Five minutes to class," Adrien observed, when he and Kim were behind five to three. "Call it?"

"Sure!" said Alix, and Marinette nodded.

"I hate you all," Kim told them, scrubbing his hand over his face. "We were _not_ going easy on you." Which was true. But it couldn't sting too badly; he was hiding a grin. "Good game?"

Marinette fistbumped Alix. "Good game!"

Adrien turned to Marinette, flushed and smiling, as Alix and Kim joined the students heading classwards. "Good game," he told her. "And remind me not to doubt you again."

 _He's just your partner._ "Don't let Alix hear this, but I would've done a lot better teamed up with a poet like you."

He frowned. "Poet?"

Marinette stepped closer, not quite daring to sling an arm around his waist, but certainly looking up to emphasize how much shorter she was. "Yeah, you're a regular Longfellow."

Adrien stared for a moment, then burst out laughing, hard enough to clutch at Marinette's shoulders for support. " 'When she was good, she was very, very good'," he quoted between guffaws.

_He's just your partner he is **just your partner** —_

Her face warmed anyway. "…I didn't think it was _that_ funny?"

At once Adrien caught himself: stifling his mirth, straightening up, backing away. "Sorry."

Chat Noir had never once in his life apologized for punning, for his reaction to _her_ punning, or—except for the time an akuma had thrown him right into Ladybug and his hands had ended up in inappropriate places, to both their mortification, and great now her face was on _fire_ —for touching her. Why was Adrien different? "For what?"

"Embarrassing you, I guess?" Adrien shrugged, looking down and beside her. "Making you uncomfortable? I don't know. Whatever it is I'm doing to make you blush. You're more fun when you're not."

Three weeks ago Chat had declared his intention to find what _would_ make Ladybug blush. _I can't,_ she'd retorted, which was a bold-faced lie: as Ladybug she simply never let him see her do it. Marinette thought of swimming in snow melt. "Is that so?" She went to grab her purse and blazer off the floor; her blush was fully under control when she straightened and turned back toward him.

 _His_ was out in full force, and he was looking absolutely anywhere but at her.

Huh: maybe Kim was right.

—Oh, screw it, it wasn't like Marinette was going to be able to keep both their secrets from him for more than a week anyway. She might already have gone days too long without telling him. What he _did_ with the knowledge was up to him. And if he figured it out from her deliberately dropping hints, well, at least that was better than her watching his transformation fall on Friday evening without his noticing, then freaking out too badly to tell him about it.

She put on her best confident-Ladybug stride and just a little bit of a smirk. "See something you like, kitten?"

Wow. So it _was_ possible to strike Chat Noir speechless.

"Come on, sunshine," Marinette told him, pretending not to watch him watching her, "we'll be late to class."

* * *

"He hasn't taken his eyes off you all day," Alya noted later, "except when it'd be way too obvious he's watching you instead of the teachers. Guess you just needed to appeal to his jock side."

"Maybe," said Marinette. "That isn't really a dicatomy I'd expect from him, though?" Even as dichotomous as she was and knew he must be, that—

"Expect from who?" said Adrien: Marinette startled half a meter and slammed him into her locker door. Several classmates looked over. Adrien started laughing.

"Girl, what the hell," said Alya.

"Something's been bugging me all weekend," Adrien said as though Alya hadn't spoken, making no move to get out of Marinette's grasp. "I was already wondering, what with how com _pet_ itive you are, and I thought I'd almost run into you Friday evening anyway, but—" He flicked a glance sideways at Alya, then past her, and went silent.

"How rude, Marinette," said Lila; Marinette glanced her way. "Look, you're making him uncomfortable."

"If you say so," said Adrien, draping his arms over Marinette's shoulders; Alya closed her mouth again.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I wonder how catty I need to get to declaw her," she muttered, quiet enough she was certain Lila couldn't hear; Adrien snickered.

Alya glanced between them. "Marinette, can I get a word with you?"

Three guesses what that was about. "If the sentence 'you're jealous of Lila over Adrien' is involved, no."

"Jealousy is a natural human emotion," Lila put in, faux helpfully. "It's just…not pretty. I know you're better than that."

 _He's your partner. He's got your back._ "Absolutely I am," Marinette agreed, bright and painful like summer sun. "I wasn't always—I really was jealous of you when you first arrived. For about five minutes. Then I heard you make the suicidally foolish remarks that you are, one, descended from a Fox superhero, and two, Ladybug's best friend. And then Ladybug told Adrien you were lying through your teeth into the bargain."

Alya opened her mouth and closed it, opened and closed it again. Good; maybe she would _ask_ Ladybug about this later.

Lila watched Alya, stony.

Adrien put on a bright little smile. "I know you're better than that too, Lila," he told her. "I think you should stay away from Marinette and me for a while."

A few tears shone in the corners of Lila's eyes; her lip quivered. "Adrien—are you saying you don't want to be my friend anymore?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like _that_. I didn't think we were friends in the first place."

Alya boggled at him. Marinette bit down the laughter. "Let's go," she said instead, releasing him and turning to leave.

Adrien caught her by the shoulders, glaring at Lila until she stormed off, then refocused on Marinette. "Why would anyone think you're jealous of Lila?"

Shaking herself, Alya smirked. "Go on, girl, tell him."

Ulp. Marinette's words clogged her throat, unvoiced; she buried her face in his chest.

"Princess," said Adrien. Said Chat Noir. "Please."

_He's your partner. You can do this._

Marinette looked up. "Because of this," she said, and went up on tiptoe, and— "You're too tall," she complained, and grabbed his shoulders again, to bring him down for a kiss.

The click-click-click of a digital shutter.

Adrien drew back, staying (it seemed) upright only because the locker was behind him: she'd seen him more stunned, but never this joyful about it. Even when they were coming to after defeating Oblivio, reeling at the sight of that photo (which Marinette still meant to present as evidence to add sexual assault against both of them to the list of Hawkmoth's criminal charges), Chat Noir had been merely overwhelmingly delighted.

Speaking of. "Alya," Marinette said without taking her eyes off Adrien's, "if you let anyone see those photos, I'm throwing you in the river."

"I need proof or no one will believe me," Alya retorted. Behind her Marinette heard approaching footsteps.

"No, I'm with her." Adrien wasn't looking away from Marinette either. "I bet we could time it for when Ladybug or Chat Noir is around to fish you _out_ of the river, but you're definitely going _in_ the river. I want personal copies of those photos, but not that badly." He ran his fingertips over the back of her neck. "How long has this been going on?"

Uh. "Put it this way," said Marinette. "Alix was fourteen."

"Did I hear my name?" called Alix from across the room. "Hey, _wait_ a minute—"

"Is this really the time?" demanded Marinette with ever so slight emphasis on the last word, turning just enough to glare.

"Nope! Absolutely not! Alya come on we are leaving now!"

Adrien watched Alix drag Alya off. Marinette didn't, following instead how his expression sobered; she could hear Alya's protests from a good distance anyway.

"So before Timebreaker," he said.

Marinette nodded. She was not going to cry, she was _not_ going to cry— "Guess I know what tonight's nightmare is." No one else was close enough to hear her speaking this quietly. "That again. The way no one else remembers. Only I don't think either of us will have our masks this time."

He sighed, pulling her into a proper hug. "I take it I died."

"Yeah. You need to quit that."

"Do we have to have this argument again?"

"I'm not sure we've had it yet!"

"I guess not." His heart beat steadily under her ear. "If you want me to sneak in your skylight to spend the night, I can do that pretty much whenever you like. Not for anything that would upset your parents, you understand," he added. "Please stop blushing, I never know what you're thinking when you're blushing."

"Is it not _obvious_?"

"—Please don't make me blush either!"

Marinette laughed.

"Seriously," Adrien told her, somber. "I dream about you dying, too."

"Spend the night," said Marinette at once. Maybe if they could both wake from a nightmare to the other in their arms, they'd sleep better. "Now go back to the happy face. I like your happy face."

From his tone, she could tell he was smirking. "What, the one just now? Sorry, princess, that's reserved for special occasions. Like realizing the most amazing girl I know actually _likes_ me. She might even want to kiss me sometimes."

Someone was coming. "Subtle," said Marinette, flat.

"Hey! Marinette!" exclaimed Kim. "Adrien! I just heard the most fascinating rumor! Think you could confirm it for me?"

"Sorry, Kim," said Adrien, faux sincere. "If I tail you, I'll have to kill you."

"Um," said Kim.

Marinette snickered, pulling away from Adrien. "Kim, you know a lady doesn't kiss and tail."

"Uh?" said Kim.

"Guess you were right this morning," Marinette added, and took Adrien's hand to tug him after her to—wherever it was they actually meant to spend lunch hour. The bakery, maybe? Hell if she was letting go of him, anyway.

"I'm always right," Kim said, smirking. Alix poked her head back in behind him, Alya following her. "It's a weakness."

Marinette made a show of rolling her eyes. "Still think you and Alix could beat Adrien and me at basketball? Fifty euro says you can't. Alya, take note."

"You're on," said Kim and Alix, almost in unison.

Adrien snorted, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "Marinette, next time you want money without having to work for it, just ask me?" and Marinette laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [Dreamwidth](https://alexseanchai.dreamwidth.org/) and [Tumblr](http://alexseanchai.tumblr.com/)


End file.
